Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) sets out three steps for finding its documents, and a request under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act is the third. DEEP asks that you search its online sources first, then review its paper files in the Records Center, and file a FOIA request only when those have not turned up what you need.

In a Phase I ESA

A listing says a record exists. The reports and letters are in the file. Five details shape a request.

• Search online first. DEEP's first step is the Connecticut Open Data Portal, for data sets drawn from DEEP databases, and the DEEP Online Document Search Portal, for documents. Its FOIA page says spill reports can be searched in the portal by property address or case ID. It says that from 2026, release and cleanup documents go into the Release, Environmental Assessment, and Cleanup Tracker (REACT) and also appear in the portal, while documents submitted earlier are in the portal. Hazardous waste manifests from 1981 on are in a data set on the Open Data Portal, and DEEP says leaking tank documents are still being scanned.
• Then the Records Center. The second step is DEEP's file room; see Environmental Quality Records Center (File Room). DEEP says that if these steps find nothing on a property, it likely holds no records on it.
• One property per request. DEEP says a FOIA request can name only one property location, and another property needs a request of its own.
• Weeks, not days. DEEP says it searches as promptly as it can, but that a search may take 10 to 12 weeks or longer. When the search is done, DEEP tells the requester how many documents it has gathered.
• What the law sets. Under section 1-210(a) of the General Statutes, except as federal law or a state statute provides otherwise, every person has the right to inspect public records promptly during regular office or business hours, to copy them and to receive copies. Section 1-206(a) requires a denial to be made in writing within four business days of the request, or ten business days for a request covered by section 1-214(b) and (c), and treats a failure to comply within those days as a denial. A requester who is denied may appeal to the Freedom of Information Commission within 30 days.

How to ask

• Online. DEEP takes FOIA requests through its GovQA web app, where a request filed online can also be tracked.
• Otherwise. A requester with limited internet access may write to DEEP's FOIA Administrator in the Office of the Commissioner, 79 Elm Street, 3rd Floor, Hartford, CT 06106, or reach the Administrator by email or phone at the contacts on DEEP's FOIA page. For the status of a request sent by fax or letter, DEEP gives deep.foia@ct.gov.

Fees

DEEP charges 25 cents a page for copies, and $1.00 for the first page of a certified copy and 50 cents for each page after it. Documents that already exist in electronic form are provided free. A request whose cost passes $10.00 must be paid for before the documents are released. DEEP provides documents only in the format in which it holds them.

Sources

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection page, read October 13, 2026:

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Records Requests, last modified March 18, 2026.

Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown:

• Sec. 1-210. (Formerly Sec. 1-19). Access to public records. Exempt records.
• Section 1-206. (Formerly Sec. 1-21i) - Denial of access to public records or meetings. Appeals. Notice. Orders. Civil penalty. Service of process upon commission. Frivolous appeals.